About J.W. Erwin Artist/Author

J.W. Erwin is a highly popular commissioned illustrator, sketcher, colorist, and inker. J.W. Erwin has been drawing and sketching for over 25 years. He began studying comic art at 15 years old and began teaching himself to draw by emulating comic artists he enjoyed such as Frank Frazetta and album artist Roger Dean. In 2001 he was given the opportunity to enroll in the Art Instruction Schools of America, the same school where Charles Schultz of Peanuts got his art training. In 2002 J.W. Erwin competed in the Charles Schultz cartoon art contest and won 1st place through 15 rounds of judging including the CEO of Charles Schultz company and his widow Jean. The Grand Prize of the contest was a full scholarship to the school. J.W. Erwin has also won 4 poetry awards for poems he created in a book called Sterling Silver Dreams for his wife. He won the 2005 Outstanding Poet of the Year and Outstanding Poem of the Year for the poem Mother created for the book Sterling Silver Dreams from the International Society of Poets, also the 2005 Outstanding Poet of the Year and The Shakespeare Tribute to Excellence from the Famous Poet Society for the poem Hope also created for Sterling Silver Dreams. J.W. Erwin is also a graphic T'shirt designer and has created a comic strip called PawPrintz based on the Wildcats school mascot of the town he resides in. PawPrintz is published on Saturdays in the Lovington Daily Leader newspaper.While J.W. Erwin primarily works in pencil and ink, he is also proficient in pastels and inkpens and has had much success combining multiple mediums.Some of his favorite comic artists are Travis Charest, Adam Hughes, Alex Ross, Kevin Nowlan, Mike Mignola. He also enjoys work by the Old Masters such as Rafael and Rembrant, as well as celtic art such as the Book of Kells. J.W. Erwin resides with his wife and son in New Mexico. He says his wife and son are his greatest inspirations. He has created one book of poem and illustration for his wife called Sterling Silver Dreams in which he took the different things she loves and created an illustration and corresponding poem. He created a children book for his son called Kid Adventure and the Missing Octopus based around his son's love of bath toys and sea life. He is currently working on another children's book called Space Boy based on his son as well. He is also a T'shirt designer and is currently creating a line of graphic art for cyclists as well as a line for skaters and skateboarders. Please feel free to email me anytime, my email address is lajalo.studio@live.com. J. W. Erwin is the nom de plume for James E. West.